User:CycloneTheta/sandbox
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Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle is a weak and currently active tropical cyclone that is expected to make landfall in Far North Queensland as a high end Category 4 severe tropical cyclone. The twenty-first tropical low and tenth tropical cyclone of the 2025–26 Australian region cyclone season, Narelle is expected to have an intense and possibly powerful impact on Queensland.[1] The cyclone could potentially be one of the northernmost severe tropical cyclone landfalls in Queensland, as high north as Cyclone Mahina in 1899,[2] and is also expected to be the first Australian region cyclone to make 3 landfalls in it's total lifespan in 21 years; since Cyclone Ingrid in 2005.[3]
 Narelle intensifying near Papua New Guinea on 17 March | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 15 March 2026 |
| Category 5 severe tropical cyclone | |
| 10-minute sustained (BOM) | |
| Highest winds | 220 km/h (140 mph) |
| Highest gusts | 315 km/h (195 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 926 hPa (mbar); 27.34 inHg |
| Category 4-equivalent tropical cyclone | |
| 1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC) | |
| Highest winds | 230 km/h (145 mph) |
| Lowest pressure | 933 hPa (mbar); 27.55 inHg |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | None |
| Injuries | None |
| Damage | Unknown |
Part of the 2025–26 Australian region cyclone season | |
Meteorological history
Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
Unknown
Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depressionOn 15 March, a tropical low was spotted by the Bureau of Meteorology close by to the Solomon Islands. The low-pressure system temporarily tracked to the west at a slow pace, and then preceded to quickly dip to the south. Only a single day after the disturbance formed, it was observed by a tropical depression by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center while still classified as a tropical low by the BoM. On 17 March, the BoM classified the tropical low as a tropical cyclone, assigning it the name Narelle. The tropical cyclone preceded to intensify at a moderate pace, later becoming hurricane force on 18 March.[4] Narelle is expected to make landfall in Queensland as a Category 4 severe tropical cyclone, equivalent to Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. It is then expected to reintensify in the Gulf of Carpentaria, make a second landfall in East Arnhem and a third one in Kimberley.[1][2]